For documentary filmmakers, the past year offered no shortage of urgent stories.
The nominees for Best Documentary Feature and Best Documentary Short Film at the 98th Academy Awards reflect a world grappling with political division, social change, and personal resilience. The films travel from a Florida neighborhood shaken by violence to the classrooms of Russia, from prison yards in Alabama to a small Iranian village where a local councilwoman is pushing against tradition. What unites them is their focus on individuals confronting systems far larger than themselves.
Five films are nominated for Best Documentary Feature, while another five compete in the Documentary Short Film category. Together, they illustrate the wide reach of nonfiction filmmaking at a moment when the genre has become one of the most vital forms of cinematic storytelling.
Among the nominees, “The Perfect Neighbor,” directed by Geeta Gandbhir, stands out for its stark reconstruction of the 2023 killing of Ajike “AJ” Owens, a Florida mother whose ongoing conflict with a neighbor ended in gunfire.
The film unfolds almost entirely through body-camera footage, surveillance recordings and emergency calls, allowing viewers to experience the escalating tension as it happened. Without narration or commentary, the documentary builds its story from the same evidence investigators reviewed after the shooting, placing the audience inside the timeline of events. The approach turns the film into a quiet but devastating examination of how everyday disputes can spiral into tragedy.
Another nominee, “The Alabama Solution,” from filmmakers Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman, investigates the crisis inside Alabama’s prison system, where overcrowding and violence have drawn national scrutiny. The documentary takes its title from a controversial proposal to house prisoners in outdoor camps, a policy critics say echoes punitive practices from earlier eras. Through interviews with incarcerated men and their families, the film reveals the human toll of systemic neglect.
In “Come See Me in the Good Light,” director Ryan White shifts the focus to an intimate story. The documentary follows poet Andrea Gibson, who continued writing and performing after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis. The film traces Gibson’s life with their partner through moments of humor, poetry, and reflection, offering a portrait of love and creativity in the face of mortality.
The Iranian documentary “Cutting Through Rocks,” directed by Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni, follows Sara Shahverdi, the first woman elected to a council position in her rural village. As she pushes for greater independence for girls and challenges practices such as child marriage, the film captures the tension between tradition and reform in a tightly knit community.
And in “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” directors David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin document a Russian schoolteacher quietly resisting government propaganda during the war in Ukraine. Through recordings and interviews, the film explores how official narratives reach into classrooms — and what it means to challenge them.
One filmmaker appears twice among this year’s nominees. Director Geeta Gandbhir has received two Oscar nominations at the 2026 Academy Awards, one for the feature documentary “The Perfect Neighbor” and another for the short film “The Devil Is Busy.”
Dual recognition in both documentary categories is rare.
While “The Perfect Neighbor” reconstructs a fatal neighborhood conflict, “The Devil Is Busy” turns to a different setting: an abortion clinic in Atlanta. Directed by Christalyn Hampton and Gandbhir, the short film follows a single day inside the clinic as staff members assist patients while navigating protests and security concerns outside.
By narrowing its focus to one location and one day, the film offers a close look at the tensions surrounding reproductive healthcare in the United States.
The nominees for Best Documentary Short Film also address urgent themes.
“All the Empty Rooms” reflects on the aftermath of school shootings by documenting the preserved bedrooms of children who were killed, spaces that remain unchanged as families continue to grieve.
“Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud” recounts the career of the journalist killed while reporting on the war in Ukraine, examining the risks reporters take to document conflict.
“Children No More: Were and are Gone” focuses on the experiences of young people displaced by war, highlighting the long-term consequences of conflict in childhood.
And “Perfectly a Strangeness” takes viewers to a remote observatory, where astronomers search the night sky for distant galaxies, reflecting on humanity’s enduring curiosity about the universe.
The 98th Academy Awards will take place Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles. The ceremony begins at 7 p.m. Eastern Time / 4 p.m. Pacific Time.
The awards will be broadcast live on ABC and streamed on Hulu, with additional viewing options through services including YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, FuboTV, Sling TV and DirecTV Stream.
Audiences can follow the ceremony and awards-season coverage on the Academy’s official social media platforms:
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More information about nominees and ceremony coverage is available at Oscars.org.